Follow that Red String
by Aria Veritro
Summary: Once in blue moon, few people are chosen to see their fates and soul mates ahead of time. Keitaro happens to be those few people. When he finds out that he'll married Naru and follow Seta's career path, he learns that Naru isn't one for him.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I don't own Love Hina.**

**Special great thanks to Shigur3**

You would think a genius like Su could do a simple thing; for example, throwing a banana peel into a garbage can, so no one can trip on them. But unfortunately for a certain male landlord, he happened to walk toward the peel but was too busy talking to Mutsumi about afternoon class to notice. He stepped on it and slipped, fell, then took Mutsumi down with him by accident. Before he knew it, he had landed on top of Mutsumi with a banana peel stuck on his head.

"Are you okay?" Keitaro stammered.

"I'm fine. Are you okay?" Mutsumi said.

"I'm fine. I'm so sorry," He blushed.

As they try to get up, Naru walks in.

"You pervert, how dare you try to take advantage of Mutsumi!" Naru yelled.

"Naru..." Keitaro couldn't say anything else as he got a first class Naru punch that landed him over the next horizon.

"Mutsumi, are you okay? Did that jerk hurt you?" Naru held out a hand to the Okinawan beauty.

"I'm fine. But did you really have to do that Kei-kun?" Mutsumi grabbed the hand and stood up with her friend's help.

"He was on top of you. I was trying to help you." Naru stated.

"I hope he's okay." Mutsumi sighed.

-

Keitaro finally got home from his so-called 'trip' on Naru Express. He didn't want to hear the usual standard greeting so he took the hidden tunnel to his room. The first thing he did when he got to his room was to sit. The journey was long but the weight on his heart grew heavy.

"You finally got here, Keitaro!"

He turned to see a girl dressed in beige slacks and a white blouse floating in his room. His eyes widened as he studied the intruder. Her appearance looked ethereal; the girl allowed her feet to touch the floor however. Her honey-colored eyes studied the male occupant of the room. "I can't believe how far you flew!" She tied her lilac hair into a ponytail. "Are you okay?"

He carefully cleaned his glasses. "I think I've been studying too hard or I'm dreaming right now. That's it!"

"Keitaro, look at me!" The angelic being snapped her fingers in front of his face. "You're wide awake and you just got home a few minutes ago so you didn't study tonight."

"Who or what are you?" He put on glasses to study her. "How do you know my name?"

"Well, for one thing, I'm not human but I'm not an angel, either. I'm an agent of fate." She smiled. "I know everyone's name on earth. It's a requirement as an agent of fate.

He looked confused. "What?"

"I don't know how to explain this. But for starters, you can called me Kismet. Some of the other agents do," Kismet bowed.

"Kismet, nice to meet you, I think." He looked at his ceiling. "I'm surprised that Naru hasn't heard us by now," He moaned.

"That short-tempered girl who lives upstairs? No, I placed a soundproof spell in your room. She can't hear us. Right now, she's studying." Kismet stared at the boarded hole in the ceiling. "I have to admit. It's a good thing that I did."

"Why?" Keitaro inquired.

"If she did hear us, she could see you, not me. Plus she'll be wearing a V-neck shirt and no bra. Guess what will happen?" Kismet said sourly.

"Her head will stick out and if she leans forward, I could see her breasts. She'll get mad and I'll be flying in the night sky." He predicted.

Kismet nodded.

"What are you doing here?"

"Like I said before, I'm an agent of fate. We live around this world, unseen. We know how people have lived out their lives and who they end up with. We monitor the humans for a purpose. I don't remember why though."

Keitaro stared at her.

"What do you expect from me? I got way too much to remember. Plus I'm older than I look. We're getting off the subject. The point of my visit is that once in a blue moon, we choose certain humans to look at their future and give them a chance to find their soul mate," Kismet pointed at Keitaro. "I choose you for this opportunity."

"But I already know who I'm going to marry, it's Naru. She is the one for me."

"Are you sure?"

Keitaro just nodded.

"Well, give me your right hand." Kismet asked. He held his right hand towards her. "Thank you. Have you heard that there is a red string around your ring finger to your soul mate's?" She grasped his hand to study it.

"Yeah, everybody's heard of that but that's just a myth." Keitaro shrugged.

"It's not. Watch!" Her eyes flashed as she chanted in an unknown language. "Reveal only to the hand that I hold!" As a final touch, she blew on his hand. To Keitaro's amazement, a red string tied to his ring finger appeared right in front of his eyes. "See, if the string goes up."

His eyes followed the string but it didn't lead towards the ceiling hole. It went out of his door. "What? This has got to be a mistake."

"We don't make mistakes and we also don't choose your destined one for you. Your souls do. Why do you think there are so many divorces in the world? It's because people haven't found their soul mates yet. It's sad, really." The agent let his hand go. "Do you want to see your future if you continue to think that way?"


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I don't own Love Hina.**

**A great special thanks to Shigur3 for beta-reading this fic. **

**I'm sorry that some of my fics are taking so long. This year hasn't been so kind to me. So far, three of my friends has passed away. I have been too depressed to write. But thanks to my friends, I'm feeling better now. Once again, I'm sorry about the late update. **

_"Do you want to see your future if you continue to think that way?" _

Keitaro stared at the hole in the ceiling for awhile. "I do. I need to know why she isn't the one." His eyes now focused on Kismet. "How do you do this?"

"There are a few rules you have to follow. Once this happens, there is no turning back. You will gain the knowledge of only one possible future. After this is over, I will take my leave and you'll have to think of this question. Is that life for you?" Kismet said.

The landlord didn't say anything.

Kismet placed her hand on his right shoulder. Her face was pale. "Before we get started, you need to pretend to fall asleep right now." With a snap of her fingers, his bedding was spread out. "Now!"

"What? Why?" Keitaro asked as he got into his blankets.

"Trust me on this and sleep right now!" She took off his glasses.

His vision was blurry but he could see Kismet as she turned herself invisible. He quickly pretended to fall asleep just as someone knocked on his door.

"Keitaro, are you awake?" The fox-eyed tenant knocked on the door again. She and Naru opened the door slightly and peered into the landlord's room. As soon as they saw him sleeping, Kitsune shut the door as quietly as she could. She looked at her friend. "Naru, what were you worrying about? He's sleeping."

"This early?"

"You did a good number on him from what I saw. We should let the poor guy rest."

The Tokyo University student crossed her arms. "Why are you defending him?"

Kitsune raised her eyebrow. "Why are you are so quick to judge him?"

"He's a perverted man who needs to be monitored at all times. You know what a lech he is. He gets what he deserves," She stated.

'Typical response!' The fox-eyed honey sighed in defeat. "That excuse will get tiresome eventually. When that happens, then what?"

Naru was stumped.

Kitsune wasn't surprised when she didn't get an answer from her friend. "Come on, he needs to get his rest. We need to talk someplace else." She dragged her away from the landlord's room.

Once they were no longer there, Kismet reappeared, amazed at what she saw. "You got a wonderful woman there, Keitaro." The agent's voice was dripping in sarcasm.

"She means well." He sat up from his blankets.

"For others but how about you?" She took out a small notebook out of her back pocket. "I have seen men and women who had relationships like yours and most of the time, it didn't end well."

"What about that small percent?"

'The hopeful optimistic.' The agent had to smirk. "Does 'Custer's Last Stand' mean anything to you?"

Keitaro looked confused. "What's that?"

"It's a part of American History. I suggest that you look it up when you have the chance."

"I don't get it. What does that have to do with me?" He yelled out, frustrated.

Kismet looked at him. "You and General Custer had something in common; heading toward a battle you can't win."

His face paled at what she just said. "I'll lose Naru?"

"No and watch!" She began to chant in a foreign language. _"Expose this mortal's so-called love's history." _Images of Naru's past actions toward the landlord were displayed on all four walls of his room.

He watched the pain and suffering that he endured from the woman that he loves. He winced as he recalled how far he landed on his "journeys."

"The difference between you and him is that he had one fight and didn't know the adversaries too well. But you know what she's capable of and have lost to her numerous times, either fights, arguments or tiny mishaps and yet you still love her. Why? and please don't tell me she's a kind person. Her negative qualities outweigh her positive ones."

He wanted to say something but nothing came out.

She snapped her fingers to make the images disappear then gave him a hug. "I'm not here to become your enemy nor hers. I'm telling you based on what I'm seeing," She kissed his forehead. She could feel that his anxiousness was melting away with the touch of her lips. "Come on, we got a future to look at," She grabbed his hand. "Are you ready?"

"Yeah, I'm ready."

"Good, hold my hand tight." She once again chanted the strange language. Her eyes glowed in bright amber that shone so brightly that he had to close his eyes. 'Are we moving?' He didn't know how long he had shut his eyes but he felt someone tugging at his shoulder.

"What happened?" As he opened his eyes, his body felt exhausted. He leaned on the immortal agent for support. "Whoa, I feel a little dizzy."

"Oh good, you're okay," Kismet smiled. "Time-traveling isn't so great for mortals but you seem fine."

"Why? Is there some side-effect?" He could barely speak.

"It varies on people. My last chosen one burped out green bubbles for a good five minutes and the one before that, she had become a tree for at least two minutes. I also know of an agent whose chosen accidentally sang an opera melody."

"That last one isn't so bad."

"Keitaro, she was born mute," She chuckled.

"Oh!" He exclaimed, embarrassed.

"That's okay. Once you're better, we'll start..."

Keitaro interrupted her. "I'm ready now."

"Wow..." She blinked, "Okay, can you tell me where we are now?"

"We're still in my room, aren't we?" Confused, he began to inspect his surroundings. But instead of seeing his room, he saw a very familiar location. "Wait... we're in the hallways of Tokyo University!"

"Ding-ding-ding-ding, you're correct. Now follow me to your prize." She lead him to a door that had his name on it and placed his hand on the doorknob. "Keitaro Urashima, here is your future."

**The fate of Keitaro's love life is in your hands. I just post a poll to decide his bride-to-be. So go and vote on your favorite! ^_^ **

**If you want to add a person to the list, please send me the name and why. **

**Thank you. **


End file.
